the community
Downtown Transformed
The Story of MetroTech
MetroTech Center, occupying ten blocks of Downtown Brooklyn, has become such a major presence that people forget that streets lined with homes, churches, factories, and shops once ran through the area. This was one of the earliest sections of Brooklyn to be settled, but unlike prosperous Brooklyn Heights with its grand brick and stone house and churches, the MetroTech area initially developed largely with frame houses and other modest buildings. For almost 150 years, this neighborhood evolved at the fringe of the Fulton Street commercial district.
In the mid 1970's, Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden and Polytechnic University President George Bugliarello conceived of and advanced the idea for the MetroTech project. They reasoned that creating a center for research and development modeled on the lines of Silicon Valley", would be the cornerstone of a revitalized Downtown core. In 1979, the Brooklyn Borough President, commissioned the Regional Planning Association (RPA) to study, Downtown Brooklyn. 'That study showed that Downtown Brooklyn could be the City's third central business district (CBD).
In the early 1980's the City's Public Development Corporation (PDC) agreed to designate Polytechnic University as the urban renewal sponsor for the MetroTech project. The choice of a developer with a strong sense public purpose was also an important piece to the development. Polytechnic University and PDC chose Forest City Ratner Companies as the developer, proposing a project that would attract new investment and thousands of daily workers. Today the area has been transformed, and its history merits exploration.
A Residential Community
By the 18th century, the land on which MetroTech stands was farmed by ancestors of the Duffield and the Johnson families. It was not until the 1830's that the property was subdivided into lots and residential development began. These streets, on the edge of the growing city of Brooklyn were soon lined with a mix of wood and brick houses most in the Greek Revival style of architecture.
Johnson Street was typical, with its modest 2 1/2 story houses, many with small porches that attracted the families of middle-class, mostly American born professionals and artisans. Many of the residents attended small Protestant churches in thc area, such as the Congregational and Baptist churches on Bridge Street, both of which later housed African-American congregations.
Relocating History
As part of the MetroTech development, the sponsors agreed to save four of the most significant historic houses in the area. In February 1990, steel beams were placed beneath the ground floors of each of these houses and they were jacked up 17 feet so that they could be relocated. The three adjoining houses at 106 - 110 Johnson Street were lifted together and placed on a flatbed truck which rolled them to their new home on Duffield Street, between Myrtle Avenue and Willoughby Street. Each was placed on a new foundation and all have been extensively restored.
Brooklyn's First Black Church
In 1818, black worshipers at the Sands Street Methodist Church withdrew in response to the demand that each pay a fee of $10 for seats restricted to the balcony. The result was the organization of the Brooklyn African Wesleyan Methodist Episcopal Church, Brooklyn's first black church. The congregation grew and, in 1854, purchased the 1847 Greek Revival-style sanctuary of the First Free Congregation Church ("free" because pews were not rented). The name was changed to Bridge Street A.W.M.E. Church. The church harbored runaway slaves before the Civil War and continued to be a mainstay of Brooklyn's African-American community. After the congregation moved to Bedford-Stuvvesant in 1938, the building served many uses, including the Albertype Company's post card factory. In the 1990's the exterior was restored as part of a conversion into the Wunsch Student Center for Polytechnic University.
An Architectural Masterwork in Brooklyn
In 1892, the independent city of Brooklyn erected a spectacular new headquarters for its fire department on Jay Street. The Romanesque Revival-style building is a masterpiece designed by architect Frank Freeman, one of Brooklyn's most talented late 19th-century designers. Fire engines passed through a massive red sandstone arch once emblazoned with the words "FIRE HEADQUARTERS." The upper facade of golden brick and matching terra cotta is capped by a steep roof and a tall watch tower. In 1988, as part of the MetroTech development, the vacant building was converted into subsidized apartments for lower-income house-holds displaced by the new construction.
Change Comes to Downtown: The Late Nineteenth Century
The character of Downtown residential streets changed dramatically in the second half of the 19th century as near by Fulton Street became a major shopping district. Many of the old homes became boarding houses for Irish and German immigrants, and commerce and industry made inroads, in 1888, an elevated railroad (the "el") opened on Myrtle Avenue, plunging the street into semi-darkness. Factories were built near the el, including the Wilcox Millinery Company's large plant designed by Parfitt Brothers in 1889, and Myrtle Avenue itself became a center for local furniture stores.
A Neighborhood Evolves in the Twentieth Century
By the early 20th century, the residential character of the neighborhood was in decline, as small businesses erected storefronts on the lower floors of old houses. Significant transportation improvements attracted large-scale industrial and corporate development, notably the American Safety Razor Company, which built a large complex on Lawrence Street. In 1898, architect R.I. Daus designed the New York and New Jersey Telephone Company's office building at 81 Willoughby Street, with its dramatically curved corner and carvings depicting what were then up-to-date telephones with characteristic wires and earpieces. A block away stands architect Ralph Walkers bold Art Deco-style brick tower of 193l, built for the telephone company's Long Island headquarters. Until construction of MetroTech, this masterwork was the area's only skyscraper.
Polytechnic: A University for Downtown
Polytechnic University, Originally the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute, was founded in 1854 to educate boys in the "industrial pursuits and commercial operations of metropolitan life." Increasingly, the curriculum focused on engineering and science. To accommodate the growing enrollment, a magnificent Romanesque Revival building was erected on Livingston Street. By tine 1950s, with classes scattered in 15 Downtown buildings, a new central campus became a necessity. The Institute purchased the American Safety Razor Company's factories and other build-ings on Lawrence and Jay streets and undertook a major conversion project. Buildings on Jay Street were demolished and a new entrance created in what had been the rear facade of a large reinforced concrete factory. The Polytechnic campus has expanded as thc centerpiece of MetroTech, with the reuse of the former Bridge Street Church and the construction of architect Davis Brodv & Associate's elegant Bern Dibner Library in 1991. Polytechnic University continues its development as a major technology center in the United States, with the current construction of a 400 bed dormitory on Johnson Street (Tech Place), and the construction of a 60,000 square foot gymnasium and classroom building on Jay Street.
MetroTech: Downtown Transformed
MetroTech was conceived as a means of revitalizing Downtown Brooklyn by developing office space attractive to high-technology businesses and back office operations, and integrating this activity with a major university center including Polytechnic University, New York City Technical College, and Long Island University. In the past ten years, the MetroTech complex has generated over $1 billion in new investment representing over 5 million square feet of new space. In addition, the successful opening of Renaissance Plaza to include the New York Marriott Brooklyn Hotel, has reinforced the vision of a vibrant Downtown that will continue to thrive. Construction of a new one million square foot consolidated court building at 330 Jay Street, the construction of Nine South MetroTech, and the new Federal Court buildings will add even greater dimension.
Thus, MetroTech has remade the core of downtown Brooklyn and has been a major catalyst for the borough's economic revitalization. As we look to the future our vision is to improve even further in creating a diverse, active, exciting downtown center.
The Story of MetroTech
MetroTech Center, occupying ten blocks of Downtown Brooklyn, has become such a major presence that people forget that streets lined with homes, churches, factories, and shops once ran through the area. This was one of the earliest sections of Brooklyn to be settled, but unlike prosperous Brooklyn Heights with its grand brick and stone house and churches, the MetroTech area initially developed largely with frame houses and other modest buildings. For almost 150 years, this neighborhood evolved at the fringe of the Fulton Street commercial district.
In the mid 1970's, Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden and Polytechnic University President George Bugliarello conceived of and advanced the idea for the MetroTech project. They reasoned that creating a center for research and development modeled on the lines of Silicon Valley", would be the cornerstone of a revitalized Downtown core. In 1979, the Brooklyn Borough President, commissioned the Regional Planning Association (RPA) to study, Downtown Brooklyn. 'That study showed that Downtown Brooklyn could be the City's third central business district (CBD).
In the early 1980's the City's Public Development Corporation (PDC) agreed to designate Polytechnic University as the urban renewal sponsor for the MetroTech project. The choice of a developer with a strong sense public purpose was also an important piece to the development. Polytechnic University and PDC chose Forest City Ratner Companies as the developer, proposing a project that would attract new investment and thousands of daily workers. Today the area has been transformed, and its history merits exploration.
A Residential Community
By the 18th century, the land on which MetroTech stands was farmed by ancestors of the Duffield and the Johnson families. It was not until the 1830's that the property was subdivided into lots and residential development began. These streets, on the edge of the growing city of Brooklyn were soon lined with a mix of wood and brick houses most in the Greek Revival style of architecture.
Johnson Street was typical, with its modest 2 1/2 story houses, many with small porches that attracted the families of middle-class, mostly American born professionals and artisans. Many of the residents attended small Protestant churches in thc area, such as the Congregational and Baptist churches on Bridge Street, both of which later housed African-American congregations.
Relocating History
As part of the MetroTech development, the sponsors agreed to save four of the most significant historic houses in the area. In February 1990, steel beams were placed beneath the ground floors of each of these houses and they were jacked up 17 feet so that they could be relocated. The three adjoining houses at 106 - 110 Johnson Street were lifted together and placed on a flatbed truck which rolled them to their new home on Duffield Street, between Myrtle Avenue and Willoughby Street. Each was placed on a new foundation and all have been extensively restored.
Brooklyn's First Black Church
In 1818, black worshipers at the Sands Street Methodist Church withdrew in response to the demand that each pay a fee of $10 for seats restricted to the balcony. The result was the organization of the Brooklyn African Wesleyan Methodist Episcopal Church, Brooklyn's first black church. The congregation grew and, in 1854, purchased the 1847 Greek Revival-style sanctuary of the First Free Congregation Church ("free" because pews were not rented). The name was changed to Bridge Street A.W.M.E. Church. The church harbored runaway slaves before the Civil War and continued to be a mainstay of Brooklyn's African-American community. After the congregation moved to Bedford-Stuvvesant in 1938, the building served many uses, including the Albertype Company's post card factory. In the 1990's the exterior was restored as part of a conversion into the Wunsch Student Center for Polytechnic University.
An Architectural Masterwork in Brooklyn
In 1892, the independent city of Brooklyn erected a spectacular new headquarters for its fire department on Jay Street. The Romanesque Revival-style building is a masterpiece designed by architect Frank Freeman, one of Brooklyn's most talented late 19th-century designers. Fire engines passed through a massive red sandstone arch once emblazoned with the words "FIRE HEADQUARTERS." The upper facade of golden brick and matching terra cotta is capped by a steep roof and a tall watch tower. In 1988, as part of the MetroTech development, the vacant building was converted into subsidized apartments for lower-income house-holds displaced by the new construction.
Change Comes to Downtown: The Late Nineteenth Century
The character of Downtown residential streets changed dramatically in the second half of the 19th century as near by Fulton Street became a major shopping district. Many of the old homes became boarding houses for Irish and German immigrants, and commerce and industry made inroads, in 1888, an elevated railroad (the "el") opened on Myrtle Avenue, plunging the street into semi-darkness. Factories were built near the el, including the Wilcox Millinery Company's large plant designed by Parfitt Brothers in 1889, and Myrtle Avenue itself became a center for local furniture stores.
A Neighborhood Evolves in the Twentieth Century
By the early 20th century, the residential character of the neighborhood was in decline, as small businesses erected storefronts on the lower floors of old houses. Significant transportation improvements attracted large-scale industrial and corporate development, notably the American Safety Razor Company, which built a large complex on Lawrence Street. In 1898, architect R.I. Daus designed the New York and New Jersey Telephone Company's office building at 81 Willoughby Street, with its dramatically curved corner and carvings depicting what were then up-to-date telephones with characteristic wires and earpieces. A block away stands architect Ralph Walkers bold Art Deco-style brick tower of 193l, built for the telephone company's Long Island headquarters. Until construction of MetroTech, this masterwork was the area's only skyscraper.
Polytechnic: A University for Downtown
Polytechnic University, Originally the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute, was founded in 1854 to educate boys in the "industrial pursuits and commercial operations of metropolitan life." Increasingly, the curriculum focused on engineering and science. To accommodate the growing enrollment, a magnificent Romanesque Revival building was erected on Livingston Street. By tine 1950s, with classes scattered in 15 Downtown buildings, a new central campus became a necessity. The Institute purchased the American Safety Razor Company's factories and other build-ings on Lawrence and Jay streets and undertook a major conversion project. Buildings on Jay Street were demolished and a new entrance created in what had been the rear facade of a large reinforced concrete factory. The Polytechnic campus has expanded as thc centerpiece of MetroTech, with the reuse of the former Bridge Street Church and the construction of architect Davis Brodv & Associate's elegant Bern Dibner Library in 1991. Polytechnic University continues its development as a major technology center in the United States, with the current construction of a 400 bed dormitory on Johnson Street (Tech Place), and the construction of a 60,000 square foot gymnasium and classroom building on Jay Street.
MetroTech: Downtown Transformed
MetroTech was conceived as a means of revitalizing Downtown Brooklyn by developing office space attractive to high-technology businesses and back office operations, and integrating this activity with a major university center including Polytechnic University, New York City Technical College, and Long Island University. In the past ten years, the MetroTech complex has generated over $1 billion in new investment representing over 5 million square feet of new space. In addition, the successful opening of Renaissance Plaza to include the New York Marriott Brooklyn Hotel, has reinforced the vision of a vibrant Downtown that will continue to thrive. Construction of a new one million square foot consolidated court building at 330 Jay Street, the construction of Nine South MetroTech, and the new Federal Court buildings will add even greater dimension.
Thus, MetroTech has remade the core of downtown Brooklyn and has been a major catalyst for the borough's economic revitalization. As we look to the future our vision is to improve even further in creating a diverse, active, exciting downtown center.